"Today's digital environment is unforgiving for global brands. The fallout of short-sighted strategy choices, misinformation, negative coverage and overlooked executive reputation gets amplified tenfold in search and chat. As generative AI becomes the primary interface between audiences and information, brands face a growing risk: AI systems speak based on the information they see and trust. Without actively shaping that corpus, brands cede narrative control to third parties. As AI adoption accelerates in 2026, what goes uncorrected today becomes tomorrow's default narrative."
"Mistake 1: Reacting to crises as they arise A major error even the biggest brands make is treating controversy as a one-time event to react to, instead of something that's minimized through proactive infrastructure. Today's digital ecosystem proves that reaction isn't enough. AI platforms can recirculate negative coverage indefinitely, resurfacing old controversies long after events pass. Unprepared brands face a massive risk when it comes to losing control of their brand narrative and stakeholder trust."
"Take Southwest Airlines, for example. Today, a quick ChatGPT search about Southwest still mentions the company's 2022 holiday season service disruption, which affected almost 17,000 flights due to the winter storm Elliott. At the time, the brand was unprepared for the long-reaching flood of negative content related to the event. Instead of having a network of owned assets to influence the narrative in the event of a crisis, the airline was trapped in reaction mode, scrambling to mitigate reputational harm from behind."
Today's digital environment amplifies short-sighted strategy choices, misinformation, negative coverage and overlooked executive reputation in search and chat. Generative AI is becoming the primary interface between audiences and information, and AI systems speak based on the information they see and trust. Without actively shaping the information corpus, brands cede narrative control to third parties. Treating controversies as one-time events and reacting instead of building proactive infrastructure allows AI platforms to recirculate negative coverage indefinitely. High-profile crises can cause long-term narrative damage and financial harm, as seen in persistent branded search results and regulatory fines. Crisis management must be ongoing and proactive infrastructure is required.
Read at MarTech
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